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Help! My Child Skips Small Words When Reading

Closeup of child reading a book

Does your child skip small words when he’s reading?

Skipping small words is actually a very common problem that we usually notice when our children are reading aloud, but the truth is that many adults skip words as well.

Interestingly, the most commonly skipped words are small, high-frequency words such as the, in, on, a, and of.

These are function words that a child cannot visualize, and since the sentence can still be comprehended without them, the words are easily skimmed over.

In addition, shorter words are much more likely to be skipped than longer words, and predictable words are more likely to be skipped than non-predictable words.

Why Do Readers Skip Small Words?

When I first explored the reasons for skipping small words while reading, I was surprised to find out how much research has been done on this topic. Generally, researchers wanted to study the way the eyes move during the process of reading: how they track, how they jump forward to the next word or phrase, and how much text is taken in at a single glance.

I’ve cited the research at the bottom of this post, but for our purposes, the main thing we need to know is this:

As a person reads, their eyes jump forward to the next word or phrase, and in this process, small words can be missed.

Longer words or unusual short words grab our attention, while smaller common words are more likely to go unnoticed.

An open book being read

In addition to the scientific explanation, there are several other reasons a child may skip words:

  • Your child may be reading too fast. Children who read too quickly tend to think that “good readers are really fast readers.” But skipping small words is just one of the many issues that can crop up if a child reads too fast.
  • Your child’s eyes are moving faster than he can say the words. If this is the case, he may have actually seen the word, but he didn’t actually speak it aloud. People speak at a rate of approximately 180 words per minute, while the average person can silently read 230 words per minute.
Child reading from an All About Reading Level 3 reader
  • Your child may have vision problems. There is a vision issue called convergence insufficiency disorder. With this vision disorder, the eyes have great difficulty focusing, and small words are often skipped.
  • Your child may have dyslexia. Skipping words can be a symptom of dyslexia. If you suspect dyslexia, this checklist may be helpful.
  • Your child may be unable to decode the words. If you point out the skipped word, is he able to read it? If not, the real problem may be that the reading material is above his comfortable reading level. He may need additional instruction in phonics and decoding.
  • Your child has suddenly begun to skip small words. Some children who were previously reading small words with no problem may suddenly begin skipping them. This can be a natural occurrence as your child is developing as a reader. He may be moving from the beginning stage of reading one word at a time to the more advanced stage of taking in a phrase at a time. This could solve itself in a few weeks as your child figures out the best speed for smooth reading.

3 Ways to Remedy This Problem

If your child doesn’t have a vision or decoding problem, the tips below will help your student pay attention to smaller words when reading.

  1. Have your child point to each word as he reads it. He shouldn’t just slide his finger under the sentence—he should actually point to the word being read. After he stops skipping words, discontinue this practice.

    Child pointing a word in a book
  2. Record your child reading and play back the audio. This may help him recognize the fact that he is skipping words as he is reading.
  3. When your child skips a word, ask him if the sentence he just read makes sense. Then have him reread the sentence again to see if he can correct the issue.

The Bottom Line on Skipping Small Words

  • Word skipping is a common scenario that happens to children and adults.
  • Children skip words for many reasons.
  • The solution will depend on the reason behind the word skipping, but there are many ways to remedy this issue.
Read Research on Word Skipping

Brysbaert M, Drieghe D, Vitu F. (2005). Word skipping: Implications for theories of eye movement control in reading. In: Underwood G, editor. Cognitive processes in eye guidance (pp. 53-77). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Choi, W., & Gordon, P. C. (2014). Word skipping during sentence reading: effects of lexicality on parafoveal processing. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 76(1).

Drieghe D., Rayner K., & Pollatsek A. (2005). Eye movements and word skipping during reading revisited. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31, 954–969.

Ehrlich, SF & Rayner K. (1981). Contextual effects on word recognition and eye movements during reading. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 20, 641–655.

Fitzsimmons, G. & Drieghe, D. (2011). The influence of number of syllables on word skipping during reading. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 18, 736–741.

Hyönä J. (1995). Do irregular letter combinations attract readers’ attention? Evidence from fixation locations in words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21, 68–81.

Rayner K., Slattery, T.J., Drieghe, D., & Liversedge, S.P. (2011). Eye movements and word skipping during reading: Effects of word length and predictability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 37, 514–528.

Does your child skip words when he is reading? Have you discovered any helpful tips?

Photo credit: Rachel Neumann

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Vanessa

says:

When was this Content Posted?

Robin

says: Customer Service

Vanessa,
This article was first posted in January of 2017.

Ben

says:

My six year old does this often. She also will auto-thesaurus (yes, I just made that up) mid sentence. For example’ the sentence may be:
“the cat ran quick” but she will read it out-loud as “the cat ran fast” I am confused by this as she can sound out bigger/new words, but she often replaces them with words that grammatically make sense!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Ben,
I’ve seen this sort of thing before. It is likely that she can tell what the meaning should be from the surrounding context, so she guesses. Even though she can sound out words, she has found that it is so much easier to just know words so she attempts to “know” words she doesn’t really know (if that makes sense).

You can help her by having her read aloud to you for 10 or so minutes a day, and during that time require that she read accurately. If she reads, “The cat ran quick,” as “The cat ran fast,” wait until she gets to the end of the sentence (to give her a chance to self-correct) and then stop her. Say, “Ooops, that’s not exactly right. Let’s try that sentence again.” Then have her reread the sentence.

Often children will catch their error on that second attempt, but if your daughter misreads it again, build the misread word with the letter tiles and have her go through the blending procedure to sound it out. Once she has read it correctly, then have her reread the entire sentence so she can read the word correctly in context, and then she can move on to the next sentence.

All this will slow her reading down and may frustrate her a bit, but that will be the perfect opportunity to discuss why reading exactly what is written is important. At this level, she may be able to guess words that mean the same, but as she moves into harder and harder books, and especially when she moves into reading-to-learn for things like history, not reading exactly what is written can completely change the meaning.

Our Break the “Word Guessing” Habit article may be helpful as well.

Nancy

says:

I am working with a college actor who is consistently skipping small words or is having difficulty with accurate word recognition. I appreciate your helpful advice! I also think her reading rate is too fast and is also causing the skips, but I am not a reading specialist so I am just guessing here.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Nancy,
Reading aloud is a separate skill from reading well silently. In fact, reading aloud well can be harder for someone that reads very well silently, because they may be able to read faster than they can speak easily. They will have to learn to slow down how quickly their mind processes the words so that they can speak them in a way that is clear and easy to understand.

Finding the right reading speed is the thing to focus on, and makes the biggest difference. Let the actor know to try reading slower than she think she should. Too slow is better than too fast! Also, practice does make perfect. She can practice reading aloud when she is alone, recording it and then listening to how it sounds.

Of course, all this assumes the college student is a proficient reader that doesn’t struggle with comprehension or anything. Most college students will be, as it is difficult to pass college classes without being proficient in reading and writing (even if professors rely heavily on lectures and not textbook assignments, exams are almost always written). However, students with diagnosed learning disabilities can receive accommodations if they desire. Anyway, if this student is not proficient in reading, it will take more than just some practice to improve her skill in reading aloud. If you think this is the case for this actor, let me know.

Jenny

says:

My daughter did this. She has gotten better with the steps I took from here. Thank you.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Jenny,
Thank you for letting us know these tips were helpful for your daughter! Great to hear she is doing better with not skipping words!

April

says:

Thank you for sharing this information. When I started homeschooling this past year, I noticed how much my daughter skipped the small words. It’s reassuring to know that this is a common occurrence in children. Thank you for the tips to recognize the cause of where the skipping words comes from.

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re so welcome, April! I’m glad this was helpful for you.

Tasha

says:

Thank you for the suggestions. I’ll have to try it out on my son.

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome! I hope they help, but if you need additional ideas, please ask. We’re always happy to help more!

Tasha

says:

Sorry for all the statements. My browser had an error sign when first trying to comment.

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m sorry you got error messages like that, Tasha. I am having our IT Team look into this.

Maria

says:

Skipping small words has become MORE of a problem as my son has become a better reader. This article has so much helpful information and strategies I can implement when working with him!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Maria,
Interesting that you noticed that your son has had more issues with skipping small words as he has become a better reader. That is pretty common! I’m glad this article will be helpful for you for working with him.

Lori

says:

I love the curriculum, but all the extra information provided via these blogs…LOVE IT!!! This particular article about skipping small words is a great reminder for my last two readers. Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Oh, thank you, Lori! I’m so glad the blog information is so helpful for you!

Joanna

says:

This is helpful!

Samantha

says:

This is our first year homeschooling and we were looking for a fun engaging curriculum that would help my child have fun learning to read and spell. She has dyslexia and prior to this year our homework nights ended in tears and it was hard for both her and I. I didn’t know how to help her but I have to say my child has really enjoyed your books and has come so far this year! Thank you so very much for that. We are really looking forward to your color editions!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Samantha,
Oh, I’m so glad that your child has turned from tears to enjoying learning! That’s so important!

Annabel

says:

Thanks for the tips, I find this happens a lot

Kelsey McClintock

says:

My daughter definitely does this! After reading this article, I’m confident that she’s reading faster than she can speak, which is a fairly easy fix.

Tomorrah

says:

This was a “thing” for two of my older kiddos. Although my son hated it, pointing to his words really helped. I think they’re so excited to be reading fluently that they’re not always hearing what they’re saying.
Great information and tips!

Eman Ezweik

says:

Nice

Alinda

says:

My son skips small words sometimes. This was interesting. We actually just got him glasses and he does tend to read to fast.
Thanks!

Celine Legaspi

says:

This is something one of my students do. I always wonder why, thanks for this blog! It gave me ideas.

Chelsea Rodrigues

says:

Thanks for the great tips!

Chelsea Rodrigues

says:

I still struggle with skipping words as an adult when engrossed in a great book so I find all of this info very helpful.

Jami H

says:

Great article. Thank you!

Erin young

says:

I still do this. Good tips on when my son starts reading!

Miranda

says:

My daughter definitely tends to read to fast and skip words. Having her point out each word has definitely been helpful. Thank you for the tip.

Miranda

says:

My daughter definitely reads to fast sometimes and skips little words. Making sure she is pointing at each word has definitely helped.

Miranda England

says:

My daughter definitely reads to fast sometimes and skips little words. Making sure she is pointing at each word has definitely helped.

Daniela

says:

My son has started skipping words recently and these are very helpful tips!

Jessica Friday

says:

This is so helpful! Thank you, my son does this and ice always wondered about it. I will try some of the tips to help him out

Robin

says: Customer Service

I would love to hear how things go as you try these tips, Jessica.

Julie

says:

This is really helpful, thank you. My son is 6 and a great reader, but I have been slightly worried aboytvtge word skipping. He does everything at a fast pace, so definitely think he is reading it faster than he is speaking
i also notice it is worse when he is tired. Will try some of these ideas with him. Thank you.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Julie,
I’d love to hear how things go after you try some of these ideas. Great observation that it gets worse when he is tired. Making sure to work on reading at a time he is fresh and keeping the lessons short so they end before he is fatigued will be a big help!

Lauren

says:

This is super helpful – thank you for taking the time to share these tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Lauren! I’m glad this was so helpful!

Aimee

says:

I’ve noticed this with both of my children and as they increase in their skill level the more they skip if you don’t nip it in the bud!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Aimee,
Yes! It seems to happen a lot as students really start to become skilled and fluent in reading. It’s a good sign of progress, but reading accurately is very important too!

yvette

says:

We have just finished AAR 1 and halfway thru AAR 2. These tips and the program has been so beneficial for my special needs student

Robin

says: Customer Service

Yvette,
It’s great to hear that All About Reading is benefitting your student! Thank you.

Leslie

says:

Very helpful tips to try. Thank you!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Leslie! I’m glad this was helpful for you.

Sharon Begley

says:

My son Always tries to guess the words based of n pictures. These are helpful tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m glad these tips are helpful, Sharon!